North Carolina

Top-seeded and top-ranked North Carolina turned on its fun-and-run game in spurts Saturday night, and that was more than enough for a 75-51 victory over 16th-seeded UC Riverside in the first round of the Cleveland Regional in Nashville. Rashanda McCants scored 15 points, Ivory Latta 14, Erlana Larkins 13 and LaToya Pringle 11 for the Tar Heels (30-1), who scored the first basket and never looked back in what Coach Sylvia Hatchell called a sloppy game.

Having grown weary of chasing No. 9 North Carolina up and down the court, Maryland knew it had to do something different in the second half. So the Terrapins cranked up the defense Wednesday night and worked to keep a step ahead of the Tar Heels. The result: A gratifying 90-84 upset victory for a young but determined squad at College Park, Md. Jamar Smith scored 22 points, John Gilchrist had 20 and Nik Caner-Medley added 17 for Maryland, 10-3 overall and 1-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

It's Matt Doherty and not Dean Smith on the North Carolina bench. But it's still team before individual for the streaking Tar Heels. No. 1-ranked North Carolina got career highs of 27 points from Jason Capel and 18 from Julius Peppers as the Tar Heels broke open a close game in the second half at Chapel Hill, N.C. Saturday en route to a 96-82 victory over No. 13 Maryland. "If we win, everybody is going to get their credit, everybody is going to get their recognition," Capel said.

A rare breed just got rarer. Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina, one of the few remaining white Southern Democrats in the House, has announced he will retire rather than run in what was expected to his toughest race yet. Shuler is a leader of the so-called Blue Dog Democrats, a shrinking coalition of moderates who were known for, among other things, causing headaches for Nancy Pelosi during her years as speaker. Shuler launched a doomed bid against the California Democrat for the minority leader post in 2010.

If you're a state trooper, losing your hat can get you in trouble. Lying about how you lost your hat, however, can get you fired. Thomas C. Wetherington, 22, says he was treated unfairly when the North Carolina Highway Patrol dismissed him in August over a lost hat -- especially considering that other troopers have done worse things yet kept their jobs. "Look, we've got guys having sex in patrol cars just about every day," said Wetherington, a trooper since 2007. "Why did I get dismissed when other guys get slaps on the wrist?"

Teams The favorites: North Carolina (28-4) -- No one in Chapel Hill is going to chant "We're No. 3!" after the Tar Heels earned the third No. 1 seeding behind Louisville and Pittsburgh. Expectations were so high some people thought Roy Williams' team might go undefeated this year. That notion ended when, after a 13-0 start, the Tar Heels lost their first two conference games.

As if baggage, security and traffic aren't enough of a hassle for the thousands expected to fly in and out of Raleigh-Durham International Airport this holiday weekend, here's one more thing to worry about: coyotes on the runway. Airport officials have noted a marked increase in recent months in the number of coyotes crossing the paths of taxiing airplanes. The critters can wreak havoc, causing delays in takeoffs and landings. In September, an American Eagle jet struck a coyote on a runway.

PITTSBORO, N.C. - With voting already underway for Tuesday's primary in this moderate Southern state, the discourse has been dominated not by candidates, but by a bitterly contested measure known as Amendment 1. If approved, it would be among the most restrictive of the marriage amendments passed in 30 states. It would amend the state's constitution to specify: "Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.

The UCLA women's basketball team went six minutes without scoring in the second half Wednesday night and lost to North Carolina, 82-51. The Bruins trailed, 33-29, at halftime and were behind, 43-39, with 14:22 to play when their shooting turned cold. The Tar Heels scored 20 straight points and were leading, 63-39, when the Bruins finally scored again with 8:20 left. The Tar Heels (4-1) coasted home with the victory.

Under the agreement, the brokerage firm agreed to give investors in the state the option of getting back the approximately $3 million they put into the Silver Screen II movie partnership. On May 22, Daniel Bell III, North Carolina's deputy securities administrator, issued a stop order to halt sales of units in Silver Screen II because E. F. Hutton & Co. went ahead with the offering in the state without registering the securities.